What kind of a man gets his kicks from shooting a magnificent animal like this? http://t.co/EI8QnCJMU3
Three months after the killing of Cecil the lion, a German hunter has reportedly shot one of the largest elephants ever seen in Zimbabwe.
The elephant had reportedly never been seen before in the country's southern Gonarezhou National Park.
The Telegraph reported: "It was shot on October 8 in a private hunting concession bordering Gonarezhou by a hunter who paid $60,000 (£39,000) for a permit to land a large bull elephant and was accompanied by a local, experienced professional hunter celebrated by the hunting community for finding his clients large elephants."
The paper said that the hunt was refusing to name the man who had killed the elephant, but that he had "travelled to Zimbabwe to conduct a 21-day game hunt including the Big Five of elephants, leopards, lions, buffalo and rhinoceros."
As with Cecil's killing, there was an outcry on social media about the shooting of the elephant.
Biggest #Elephant killed in Africa for almost 30 years brings back memories of #CecilTheLion http://t.co/iQeqaSibRN
Just seen on the news "hunters" killed the worlds largest elephant 😒. What is wrong with world... Disgusting
It's like paying $60,000 dollars to smash up some precious antiquity... #SaveTheElephants http://t.co/2ADMPTKefq
The Daily Mail reported that the animal's tusks weighed 122lb and were so big that they dragged along the ground.
Johnny Rodrigues, chairman for Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, told the Mail: "The most disappointing thing is that when a local Zimbabwean kills an animal for food for his family, he is sentenced to between 5 and 15 years in prison but when a wealthy foreign hunter comes in and shoots an animal, he gets away with it. What message are we giving the people?"